The invention relates to a process for disposing of decoy flares and more particularly to a non-polluting method of disposing of decoy flares comprised of magnesium powder, Teflon and Viton A, and also a method of disposing of waste materials which comes from the manufacture of such flares.
It is necessary to dispose of old decoy flares and waste generated from their manufacture as storage of such material is both costly and hazardous. Waste decoy flare composition may be either bulk composition, left over from a production run or might be from defective decoy flares. The magnitude of the problem can be seen from the disposal schedule for one Naval Ammunition Depot. There were on hand, 43,500 decoy flares scheduled for disposal which amounted to 19,000 pounds of pyrotechnic composition. In addition, about 80 pounds of scrap composition was being generated each day.
Heretofore, the main disposal method for decoy flare material was to burn the material in an open burning-pit in a sparsely populated area. This burning method was particularly undesirable as it not only polluted the air with smoke but additionally the products of combustion from the incineration of the fluorocarbons (Teflon and Viton) creates a hazardous condition. Additionally, the scrap material had a salvage value of about $5.00 a pound and thus the ingredients were well worth reclaiming.